Land leveling machine



Nov. 17, 1953 B. M. MA'rHlAs LAND LEVELING MACHINE 2 sheets-sheet 1Filed April 29, 1949 4 Trae/Vey.;

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Patented Nov. 17, v 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to land leveling machines, and more particularlyto a large, poweroperated machine for leveling agricultural lands "forirrigation, aircraftrunways, and other large areas where a levelcondition of the surface is desired.

It is among the objects of the invention to pro- 'vide an improvedland-leveling machine having a movable scoop for either storing ordumping earth, depending upon the position of the scoop, andpower-operated means automatically controlling movements of the scoop inaccordance with the level of the land below the scoop, so that themachine will remove earth from high places in the area and deposit it inlow places in proportion to the departure of such low places from thegeneral level desired, which machine has a length sunicient to obtain alevel condition of the area regardless of small or local rises anddepressions, and includes means for leveling minor irregularities in thepath of the machine-supporting wheels and for removing obstructions,such as stones and debris, from the path of such wheels, which further'includes means for supporting its front endv over an elongated contactarea with the ground surface, so that minor irregularities in theuntreated ground ahead of the machine will not cause the machine todeviate materially from the general level desired, and which machine issimple, strong and durable in construction, economical to manufacture,easy to use and t transport from place-to-place, and substantially fullyautomatic in operation.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a considerationof the following description and the appended claims in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a land-leveling machine illustrative ofthe invention, certain portions being broken away and omitted for thepurpose of simplifying the drawings;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the land-leveling machine illustrated inFigure l;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal, medial cross-section on an enlarged scale ofa hydraulic mechanism constituting an operative component of the machineillustrated in Figures l and 2;

Figure lis a perspective view of a fragmentary portion of the machineshowing certain details of construction thereof; and

Figure is a transverse cross-section on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

With continued reference to the drawings, and particularly to Figures 1and 2, the machine coinprises, -in general, an v,elongated structuralframe III, a pair of rear wheels II secured to and supporting the rearend of the frame, a pair of front wheels I2 secured to and supportingthe front end of the frame, a machine-towing tongue I3 for operativelyconnecting the machine to a towing tractor, steering mechanism I4operatively interconnected between the tongue I3 and the steerable frontwheels I2, a pair of skids I5 carried by the frame below the latter andrespectively in advance of the front wheels I2, a pair of sc rapers I6disposed below and carried by the frame at the front end of the latterand positioned respectively in advance of the skids i5, a scraping bladeI'I extending transversely below the frame substantially at themid-length location of the latter, a scoop I8 pivotally connected at itsforward edge inter-connected between the frame II! and the scoop I8 fortilting the scoop7 and a ground-engaging wheel 2e pivotally carried bythe frame I0 adjacent the blade Il and operatively connected to thehydraulic mechanism I9 to control the tilting of the scoop I8 by thehydraulic mechanism in accordance with the departure of grounddepressions from the general ground level desired.

The frame Ill may be conveniently provided as an elongated, trussedstructure of suitable structural iron shapes, such as angle irons,channel irons, and I-beams, and is of the lightest weight possibleconsistent with the necessary highv degree of longitudinal rigiditythereof. As illustrated, the frame comprises a substantiallythree-dimensional, rectangular, center portion 2I, a tapering frontportion 22 extending forwardly from the Vfront end of the centerportion, and a tapering rear portion 23 extending rearwardly from therear end of the center portion.

Each of the rear wheels I I is journaled in arespective fork 24, andeach fork is provided with a respective, vertically-disposed stem 25rotatably and slidably received in a respective, vertically- 'disposedsleeve 26 rigidly secured to the rear end 'of the tractor frame I0. Atransverse shaft 2l is rear wheels I I upon rotation of the shaft 21.The shaft 21 may be rotated by any suitable power or manually-operatedmeans, a hand lever 30 being illustrated as secured at one end to theshaft 21 and cooperating with a toothed quadrant 3I to hold the rear endof the frame at any desired position of elevation relative to the rearwheels II. This frame-elevating means is used primarily to raise theframe to a sufcient height relative to the rear wheels fortransportation of the machine from place-to-place along highways androads.

The stems 25 may be held against rotation relative to the sleeves by theoutwardly-projecting pins, so that the rear wheels always extenddirectly rearwardly of the frame, or, if desired, suitable steeringmechanism may be operatively connected between the frame and the rearwheels I I, so that the rear wheels can be steered to facilitatemovement of the machine. Such steerable rear wheels would constitute adecided advantage since these machines are frequently sixty feet or morein length and dimculty would otherwise be encountered in moving themaround sharp curves and intersections.

The front wheels I2 are journaled on individual struts 32 at the lowerends of such struts and these struts extend upwardly into respectiveframe-carried guides 33 and are slidable and rotatable in the guides.Respective steering arms 34 extend forwardly from the struts 32, andthese steering arms are inter-connected at their forward, distal ends bya tie rod 35. A hinged steering arm 36 is pivotally mounted intermediateits length on a transverse frame member 31 by a pivot joint 38 disposedsubstantially at the midlength location of the frame member 31. vAt itsrearward end the arm 36 is provided with a longitudinally-extendingslot, and a pivot pin 39 extends through this slot and is attached tothe tie rod 35 substantially at the mid-length location of the latter.The tongue I3 is pivotally connected intermediate its length to thefront end of the frame by a pivot joint 40, and its rearward end ispivotally connected to the forward end of the steering arm 36 by a link4I. With this construction, when the tongue I3 is swung Kromside-to-side by the towing tractor, the front wheels I2 will becorrespondingly steered so that the front end of the land-levelingmachine will track after the tractor.

A transverse shaft 42 is journaled in the frame I adjacent the guides33, and arms 43 extend rearwardly from this shaft to the outer sides ofthe guides .33. Respective pins extend outwardly from the struts 32 andare engaged in respective slots provided in the rearward or distal endsof the arms 43, so that the front end of the frame I0 will be raised orlowered upon rotation of the shaft 42.

Any suitable manually, or power-operated means may be provided forimparting rotational movements to the shaft 42, but as illustrated, thismeans comprises an elongated hand lever 44 secured at one end to theshaft 42 and cooperating with a xed, toothed quadrant 45 to hold thefront end of the frame at any desired position of elevation relative tothe front wheels I2.

A pair of elongated skids or runners I is positioned below the frameadjacent the front end of the latter and respectively in advance of theYfront wheels I2 and are rigidly secured to the frame by suitable means,such as the respective standards 41. When the frame is lowered tooperative position, these skids rest upon the surface of the ground and,having in contact with 4 the ground a length which is a substantialfraction of the total length of the machine, tend to level out minorinequalities in the ground surface, so that, when the machine is inoperation the bottom of the frame does not deviate substantially fromthe general level desired.

The skids are preferably adjustable in a vertical direction relative tothe frame, and this is accomplished by extending the respectivestandards 41 through corresponding apertured lugs 48 secured to theframe at the front end of the latter and adjustably securing thestandards in the lugs by suitable means, such as the set screws. 49.

The Scrapers I6 are positioned respectively in advance of the skids I5,and are supported in advance of the frame I0 by respective brackets 50which project forwardly from the frame and are provided at their forwardends with eyes 5I which slidably receive the scraper standards 52, thesestandards being heldin adjusted position in the adjusted eyes 5I bysuitable means, such as the set screws 53.

It will be noted that the hinged joint 54 in the steering arm 36 permitsthe frame to be raised and lowered relative to the front wheels I2without disrupting the steering mechanism.

The scraper blade I1 extends transversely of the frame I0 at the bottomof the frame and substantially at the mid-length location of the frame,and is rigidly secured to the frame by suitable means, such as by beingwelded, as indicated at 55, at its ends to the respective bottom,longitudinal members 56 of the frame, as clearly illustrated in Figure4. This blade extends downwardly and forwardly to a location somewhatbelow the frame and is beveled on its bottom edge, as indicated at 51,to provide a cutting edge 58. At its upper, rearward end the blade isprovided with a series of spaced-apart, cylindrical eyes 59 whichreceive a rod 60 which extends transversely of the frame and serves as ahinge pin for the scoop I8. A reinforcing web EI extends from the rearside of the blade near the lower end of the latter to the lower sides ofthe cylindrical eyes 59, and is welded along its opposite edges to theblade and to the eyes to provide a strong and rigid construction for theblade.

When the machine is pulled across the area to be leveled with the framein proper lowered position relative to the rear and front wheels, andwith the skids I5 resting on the ground, the cutting edge 0f the bladeI1 will shear off all of the high portions of the ground down to theprescribed level, and the earth thus sheared off by the blade I1 ismoved rearwardly into the scoop I8 by the forward movement of themachine.

The scoop I8 is a box-like structure having an open top and front end,and is pivotally connected at its forward edge to the frame at theupper, rearward edge of the blade I1 by spacedapart, cylindrical eyes 62which surround the rod 50 and constitute a piano-type hinge joint forthe front edge of the scoop. The scoop I8 has a width substantiallyequal to the width of the frame I0 and to the length of the blade i1,and when this scoop is in its fully lowered position, as illustrated inFigure 2, its bottom 63 rests upon the bottom members of the centerportion 2| of the frame as indicated at 63', and

is disposed in a substantially horizontal position.

This scoop is tiltable about the hinge joint provided by the .eyes 62and the rod 5.0 by raisins its rearward end to incline its bottom 63forwardly and downwardly to spill or dump earth from the scoop over theblade I'I to the ground when low places in the ground are encountered,an-d this tilting of the scoop is accomplished by the hydraulicmechanism I9.

The hydraulic mechanism I9 comprises an elongated cylinder 64 whichextends longitudinal- Y ly of the center portion of the frame above andforwardly of the scoop I8, and is pivotally connected at its forward endto a transverse frame member 65 by a suitable pivotal connectionincluding spaced-apart, apertured lugs 66 on the frame member, anapertured eye 61 on the end of the cylinder, and a pivot pin 65extending through the lugs 66 and the eye 61. A piston 63 isreciprocable in the cylinder 64 and a piston rod 69 extends rearwardlyfrom the piston 68 through a stuffing box 'I in the rear end of thecylinder and is pivotally connected at its rearward end to the rear endof the scoop I8. This pivotal connection may conveniently comprise apair of spaced-apart, apertured lugs 7l upstanding from the scoop at therear end of the latter, an apertured eye formed on the rear end of thepiston rod 69, and a pivot pin 'l2 extending through the lugs 'II andthe eye on the rear end of the piston rod.

With this construction, when the piston 68 is .moved forwardly in thecylinder lid, the rear end of the scoop i8 will be moved upwardly andforwardly, tilting the scoop bottom 63 to a forwardly anddownwardly-inclined position for dumping earth from the scoop, and whenthe piston moves rearwardly in the cylinder the scoop will be returnedto its earth-storing position, in which its bottom is substantiallyhorizontal and rests upon the bottom members of the frame.

Movements of the piston 68 in the cylinder 64 are controlled by ahydraulic valve, generally indicated at "I3, and which is preferablymounted on the upper side of the cylinder 64.

The valve I3 has an outer shell or housing 14, preferably of elongated,cylindrical construction which is xed relative to the movable parts ofthe valve and is preferably rigidly mounted on the hydraulic cylinder64. A tubular plunger l is slidable in the housing 1li, and an innerplunger I5 is longitudinally slidable in the tubular a plunger 'I5 andthe housing 'M The housing I4 is provided, substantially at itsmid-length location, with a pressure fluid inlet port 'I1 from which afluid conduit 'i8 extends to a suitable source of hydraulic fluid underpressure, such as the hydraulic pump outlet of the machinetowingtractor. At opposite sides of the inlet port TI, the housing is providedwith respective outlet ports 'Ill and Sd which are substantially equallyspaced from the inlet port 1l, and from which respective conduits I9 and8G' extend to a suitable iluid sump connected with the inlet ci thehydraulic purnp of the tractor. Preferably the conduits 'I9' and BIB areY-ed together, to provide a single return line extending forwardly ofthe machine frame It for connection to the tractor hydraulic pump sump.

The tubular valve plunger I5 has thereon external, annular valve gates82, 83, 84, 35, 86 and S'l spaced apart longitudinally on said plungerto provide annular reduced portions between adjacent gates. The twogates 82 and 81 are disposed at respectively opposite sides of theplunger, while the two gates 84 and 85 are disposed at respectivelyopposite sides of the inlet port il in the valve housing. The gate 83 isspaced from the side of the outlet port opposite the inlet port TI, andthe gate 86 is correspondingly spaced from the outer side of the outletIport 19. A port 88 in the tubular plunger l5, between the gates 84 and85, connects the inlet port 11 with the interior of the tubular plunger,and ports 89 and 90 between the gates 83 and Bt, and the gates and 86respectively connect the outlet ports 8l! and 'I9 with the interior ofthe tubular plunger l5. A port SI opens to the interior of the tubularplunger 'I5 at a location adjacent the annular valve gate 84 and isconnected by a longitudinally-extending passage 92 in the tubularplunger to a port $3 which opens tothe exterior of the tubular plungerbetween the valve gates 82 and 83. Similarly, a port 94 opens to theinterior of the tubular plunger 'I5 adjacent the valve gate 85 and isconnected by a longitudinally-extending passage 95 to. a port 9S whichopens to the exterior of the tubular plunger between the valve gates 3Eand Sl.

A port 9'! in the wall of the cylinder M opens to the exterior of thecylinder wall between the valve gates 82 and 83, and is connected by apassage 9S extending longitudinally through the wall of the cylinder toa port SS which opens to the interior of the cylinder 54 at the rear endof the latter. Similarly, a port I il@ opens to the exterior of thecylinder, 64 between the valve gates B6 and S1, and is connected by alongitudinally-extending passage lill to a port |92 which opens to theinterior of the cylinder E4' at the front end of the cylinder.

The inner plunger IS has three spaced-apart, valve gates or pistonsIilll, IBA and 85 thereon, and when the valve is in its neutralposition, as illustrated in Figure 3, these three pistons respectivelyunderlie the ports 89, 83 and Sil in the tubular plunger l5. A reducedportion |65 of the inner plunger 'I6 extends through a stulnng box IEi'Iin the front end of the tubulaiplunger 'I5 and through the iront wall ofthe housing I4 into the cylinder Hi8 of a hydraulic servo mechanisin,the cylinder IES being attached at its rear end to the front wall of thevalve housing 'I4 by suitable means, such as the threaded connectionIdil. A piston III! is secured on the end of the reduced portion I ofthe valve plunger 'IB within the servo cylinder Il, and a hydraulicconduit III leads from the front end of the cylinder |08 to ahydraulic'rnaster cylinder II2 mounted on a vertical member of themachine frame ill. The master cylinder IIE may be a conventional mastercylinder, such as is used in hydraulic brake mechanisms of automotivevehicles, and, since such master cylinders are well known to the art, adetailed description of the unit H2 is considered unnecessary for thepurposes of the present disclosure.

A ground-engaging wheel 28 is journaled in the outer end of a fork H3provided on one leg IM of a'bell crank lever, generally indicated at H5,which is pivotally mounted at its knee on the frame by a pivotalconnection IE secured to a vertical frame member, preferably the memberon which the master cylinder H2 is mounted. The other orvertically-disposed leg Il of the bell crank lever is connected at itsupper end to the plunger II of the master cylinder IIE, the arrangementbeing such that when the wheel 28 drops into a depression in the ground,the plunger IIB is pulled outwardly of the master cylinder H2 and whenthe wheel is raised by a succeeding high portion in the ground theplunger H8 is forced inwardly or the master cylinder.

Since the master cylinder |I`2 is connected to the servo cylinder l|08by the hydraulic conduit I| I, movements of the plunger |8 will betransmitted to the piston I| on the end of the inner valve plunger 16.

With this construction, when the wheel 20 descends into a low portion ofthe ground, the plunger I I8 will be pulled out, withdrawing fluid fromthe cylinder |08 ahead of the piston |I0 and permitting the compressionspring |I9 to move the inner vplunger 16 forwardly. When this happens,the piston |04 uncovers the port 88 and connects it with the port 9|between the piston |04 and the piston |03, so that hydraulic fluid underpressure may flow from the conduit 18 through the ports 11, 88, and 9|,the passage 92, the ports 93 and 91, the passage 9S and the port 99 intothe rear end portion of the hydraulic cylinder 64 to force the piston 68forwardly and raise the rear portion of the scoop |23.

As the rear portion of the scoop I8 is raised, the rear end of thehydraulic cylinder I9 will be correspondingly raised. An L-shapedbracket |20 projects upwardly and rearwardly from the rear end of theouter valve housing 1Q, and a bell crank lever I 2| is pivotally mountedat its knee on the bracket |20 at the rear end of the latter. A link |22connects the outer end of one leg of the bell crank lever |2| to the topof the frame I0, and the other leg of the bell crank lever is connectedat its outer end to an actuating rod |23 which extends rearwardly on therear end of the tubular valve plunger through a stufling box |24, in therear end of the valve housing 14. The downwardly extending leg of thebell Crank lever is provided with a longitudinally-extending slot |25,and a pin |26 secured to the rear end of the actuating rod |23 extendsthrough this slot to provide a lost-motion connection between the bellcrank lever and the rear end of the actuating rod.

With this construction, when the scoop is raised with the consequentraising of the rear end of the hydraulic cylinder 64, the tubular valveplunger 15 will be moved forwardly with the rising of the rear end ofthe scoop until the port 88 is again centered over the piston |04 of theinner plunger 15 of the valve, at which position of the scoop hydraulicfluid to the cylinder 64 will be cut off and the piston 68 stopped.Simultaneously the ports 89 and 90 are moved over the pistons |03 and|05, so that the return of hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic cylinderis also cut off and the scoop is held against movement in apredetermined position corresponding to the extent to which theground-engaging wheel has descended.

As long as the ground-engaging wheel continues to descend, the plunger16 will be continuously moved forwardly and the tubular` plunger 15 willcontinue to follow up this forward movement of the inner plunger as thescoop is tilted by the forward movement of the piston 68 in thehydraulic cylinder 64. Forward movement of the inner plunger 16 relativeto the tubular plunger 15 also moves the piston |05 forwardly of theport 90, so that the forward end of the hydraulic cylinder 64 isconnected to the return line 8| through the port |02, the passage |0|,the ports |00, 96, the passage 95, the port 94, and the ports 90 and 19.

When the ground-engaging wheel rises and the plunger ||8 is forcedinwardly of the master cylinder ||2, hydraulic nuid is forced into theservo cylinder |08, moving the piston ||0 and the inner valve plunger 16rearwardly, reversing the above operation in a manner such that thefront end of the hydraulic cylinder is vconnected with the fluidpressure conduit 13 and the rear end of the hydraulic cylinder isconnected with the return conduit 82, so that the piston 68 will moverearwardly in the hydraulic cylinder to lower the scoop. Lowering of thescoop causes the tubular plunger 15 to also move rearwardly followingthe rearward movement of the inner plunger 15, so that the scoop will belowered in proportion to the amount of rise of the groundengaging wheel,and will be stopped whenever vertical movement of the ground-engagingwheel ceases.

With the above-described arrangement, the scoop will be tiltedproportionately to the depth of any depression encountered by thegroundeengaging wheel to dump into 'such depression the required amountof earth, which earth will then be leveled by the blade |1. If a deepdepression is encountered, the scoop will be sharply tilted to quicklydump a large quantity of earth into the depression, whereas, if only ashallow depression is encountered, the scoop will be moderiatelyinclined to dump a proportionately smaller quantity of earth into theshallow depression.

The invention may be embodied in other spe'- cic forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come Within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embracedtherein.

What is claimed is:

l. A land-leveling machine comprising an elongated frame having a frontend 'and a rear end, wheels connected to said frame at its front andrear ends for supporting the latter, a scraper blade secured to andextending transversely of said frame near the mid-length location of thelatter, said blade being inclined forwardly and downwardly relative tosaid frame, an earthreceiving scoop pivotally connected at its forwardedge to said frame at the rear edge of said blade and extendingrearwardly from the latter, hydraulic mechanism connected between saidframe and said scoop for tilting said scoop about the pivotal connectionbetween said scoop and said frame to discharge earth from said scoop,said hydraulic mechanism being movable relative to said frame andincluding a control valve, a bell crank lever pivotally mounted on saidframe, a groundengaging wheel carried by said bell crank lever at oneend of the latter, a motion transmitting connection between the oppositeend of said bell crank lever` and said control valve, and a motiontransmitting connection between said frame and said control valve forcontrolling the operation of said hydraulic mechanism to move said scoopin accordance with the vertical movements of said ground-engaging wheel.

2. A land-leveling machine comprising an elongated frame having a frontend and a rear end, wheels connected to said frame at its front and rearends for supporting the frame, a scraper blade secured to and extendingtransversely across said frame near the mid-length location of thelatter, said blade being inclined forwardly and downwardly relative tosaid frame, an earth-receiving scoop pivotally connected at its forwardedge to said frame at the rear edge of said blade and extendingrearwardoperated means, a lever pivotally connected to said frame andextending forwardly of said blade, a ground-engaging device carried bysaid lever ahead of said blade, motion transmitting means connectedbetween said lever and said control means and motion transmitting meansconnected to said control means and responsive to movements of saidscoop, said motion transmitting means together controlling the operationof said power operated means to tilt said scoop in accordance with thevertical movements of said ground-engaging device.

3. A land leveling machine comprising an elongated frame, a pair of rearwheels secured to said frame at the rear end thereof, a pair ofsteerable front wheels secured to said frame at the front end thereof, ascraper blade secured to and extending transversely of said frame nearthe midlength location of the latter, said blade being inclinedforwardly and downwardly relative to said frame, an earth-receivingscoop pivotally connected at its front edge to said frame at the upper,rear edge of said blade and extending rearwardly from the latter, avertically disposed bell crank lever pivotally mounted intermediate itslength on said frame ahead of said blade, a groundengaging wheeljournaled on the lower end of said bell crank lever, a hydraulicexpansible chamber device pivotally connected at one end to said frameand at its other end to said scoop for tilting the latter, meansconnected to said expansible chamber device for supplying hydraulicfluid under pressure thereto, a control valve connected to saidexpansible chamber device for controlling the admission of hydraulicfluid under pressure thereto and including an outer part and twocooperating inner parts movable relative to each other end to said outerpart to provide a follow-up control between said ground-engaging wheelsand said scoop, motion transmitting means connected between the upperend of said bell crank lever and one of the inner parts of said controlvalve, and motion transmitting mechanism connected to the other innerpart of said control valve and responsive to tilting movements of saidscoop.

BERTON M. MATHIAS.

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